


A Beautiful Act of Delinquency

by thegraeyone



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blood, Fist Fights, M/M, discussions of bad dads, joey's a delinquent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 02:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17356925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegraeyone/pseuds/thegraeyone
Summary: Wheeler lets out a huff and rolls his eyes. He drops off the fence. As he hears the soft thud of his feet hitting the grass, Seto feels a door closing. He curls his fingers in the chain link as Wheeler gives him one last look over his shoulder. It’s a dare written across his face. He sticks out his tongue.Joey Wheeler is a teenage delinquent and Seto Kaiba can only keep up.





	A Beautiful Act of Delinquency

**Author's Note:**

> I got kind of obsessed with Joey Wheeler as a child delinquent and then woke up at 5am to start writing this fic.

Seto Kaiba is already begrudging another day at school. He's not completely sure what Gozaburo's intent is with this new test. Maybe Seto's training has already made him too surly and unreasonable, and he worries his shut in of an adopted son won't be able to make simple small talk. Maybe it's the trade off for Mokuba being able to attend a normal middle school. Maybe he wants to add on to the stress of his daily life, piling on the private lessons and business meetings with school obligations and homework.

The point is Seto is already done with the day before he even walks into the classroom. He goes to his seat and finds a pair of legs stretched across his path. It's unsurprising to see Joey Wheeler bent backwards in his own chair, legs propped up on the desk across from him, nodded off in sleep. His friends immediately start to shake him, but Seto is less kind than they are. He hits the desk with his briefcase and Wheeler starts, kicking at a dangerous angle.

"Oh God," the mutt murmurs. "It's you."

"Move," is all Seto says.

He considers it, crossing one leg over the other but still keeping in his path. "You can't go around, Kaiba?"

Seto's arms dart out and he grabs him by the collar, lifting him just enough to unbalance and then letting him drop. Wheeler falls to the floor with a strangled cry. He's on his feet a second later, anger branded on his face.

"You've got some nerve, moneybags," he snaps.

His friend puts a hand on him, a tired look in his eyes. "Come on, Joey. We haven't even called roll yet."

Wheeler shoves his friend's arms off, but Seto is already walking away. He finds his seat in the back corner, sets down his briefcase, and ignores the murderous look Wheeler is leveling his way.

School is a waste of Seto's time, but he puts up with it. He's well ahead of the curve thanks to his private tutors. His late nights are filled with projects Gozaburo assigns him and the extra lessons he demands, and the long hours at school are filled with mindless work he wishes he could ignore. But Gozaburo doesn't take age as an excuse for negligence. So Seto occupies his time with whatever he can work on. By lunchtime, his head is aching and heavy, his body desperate for a nap. Snoozing in class isn't the best image for Kaiba to project, and he decides to sneak away. He doubts anyone will notice.

He walks outside, hoping fresh air might clear his head. The athletics fields are empty, and as he rounds the corner, he runs straight into a familiar stick of blond hair. Wheeler glares up at him, a cigarette held nervously between his fingers. He turns, as if he doesn't already notice the plume of cheap smoke.

"Playing hooky, Kaiba?" he sneers.

"Looking for some peace and quiet," he says, keeping his voice calm. Wheeler is the one who needs to bark and bite. He does add, for some benefit, "That's a disgusting habit."

Wheeler lets out a low laugh. "Thanks, mom. What other advice do you got?"

"Stay out of my way."

He puts the cigarette to his lips and takes a long breath, which he releases in Seto's face. A spike of white hot rage runs through him, but he only clenches his fist.

"Watch where you're going," Wheeler says simply.

"Run off, mutt," he growls and turns sharply away.

He can sense Wheeler puffing up his chest and squaring his shoulders, but he never throws the punch, and any reply he has is lost as Seto storms away. He never finds a quiet spot, not without being hassled by teachers or students or any of the other inconveniences Domino has to offer. His clothes smell like cheap cigarettes, and it breaks his concentration every time.

\---

Exactly one person even tries to talk to Seto since he first joined midway through the semester, and that's Yugi Muto. Seto will never say it, and he barely lets himself think it, but he reminds him a little too much of Mokuba with his bright smile, innocent eyes, and short stature. It's probably why Seto doesn't dismiss him the way he does everyone else. Yugi stickers his notebooks with things from his grandfather's store, and he's always dragging his friends into some new game, pushing their desks together in camaraderie. He's shy and kind-hearted, which makes him easy pickings for the bigger bullies around school. A few have sniffed around Seto, but the consequences of messing with him aren't worth whatever delight they derive from it. Yugi is consequence free, more or less.

Seto is leaving school when he sees Yugi and one of those bigger bullies, who has something raised over his head. It looks like a simple toy. Yugi is on the ground, rubbing his shoulder, and suddenly Seto is ten years old. His child brain is burning with anger so bright he feels like he's breathing fire. His feet are already striding towards them, and he grabs the bully by his shoulders and spins him around.

From the ground, like he's interrupted a friendly conversation, Yugi says, "Hi, Kaiba!"

Seto doesn't spare him a glance. He steels his gaze against the bully and asks, "Is that yours?"

The bully grimaces at him. "What's it matter to you, rich boy?"

"You will return it," he says as a matter of fact. "Right now. Along with anything else you might've taken."

"You gonna make me?" the bully croons. It takes everything in Seto's power not to roll his eyes.

"It's fine, Kaiba," Yugi says, and his voice is still filled with sunshine as he stands himself up. "It's just a toy."

Anger snaps like a rubber band inside Seto. It's not fine, his brain screams. It's not just anything. People will do anything to hold an ounce of power, even if it means pushing down the least deserving. Seto's gaze is focused on the bully, and he's calculating how to destroy him, how to atomize him until he's not even a spec of dust, but he's interrupted by a louder, more annoying voice that rings out from behind them.

"Hey, Yugi!" Wheeler shouts as he jogs over. "You okay?"

Yugi gives his friend the brightest smile. "We were just looking at that puzzle my grandpa gave me."

There's a math equation behind the bully's eyes. He doesn't think Seto will attack him, not physically, but Wheeler will. He carries himself with an easy demeanor, but there's tension in his muscles signalling that he's poised to pounce. And if he gets into a fight that involves Kaiba, there will be teachers involved, and discipline to be handed out. Seto can guarantee only one person will face punishment here.

The bully slowly drops the toy into Yugi's hands. He murmurs some excuse and shuffles off. Yugi says thank you, but Seto is already gone. His car is waiting for him. Mokuba will wonder about the delay.

The next day, he sees the same bully trudging back from the school gate. A shiner puffs up his right eye, and his lip is split. Joey Wheeler's knuckles are raw and red. During class, he leans over to say something to Yugi, who struggles not to laugh.

Seto catches himself staring at Wheeler's hands a few times. At one point, Wheeler turns around and sticks his tongue out at him. Seto keeps looking ahead the rest of the day.

\---

Seto sees the aftermath of the fight from a distance as he's walking around the school. Two students from another class are held by one of the teachers and another threatens the crowd with detention if they don't head back to class now. Seto keeps walking. Schoolyard scuffles don't hold his interest.

Gozaburo has increased Seto's workload, and he wonders if he's trying to break him. But he doesn't give busy work and he doesn't waste time, so Seto gets it done. Tries to get it done. School is more of a chore on him than usual, and the chatter of his classmates has him snapping at everyone and every little thing. He needs a break, which he realizes he's not going to get as soon as he sees Wheeler ducked behind the utility shed. Taylor, his more level headed friend, is with him, shaking him by the shoulders as Wheeler laughs, his lip bleeding. They both see Seto at the same time, and Taylor gestures him over. Seto considers walking away, but with a sigh, he heads towards them.

"Is the coast clear?" he asks.

Seto looks lazily back to where the teachers have cleared the walkway. The delinquent students are dragged away to face detentions, or worse. No one hangs around now that the excitement is over.

"I think you're safe," he says.

"It's a sad day when Kaiba has to be our lookout," Wheeler says. He's drumming with energy, his eyes bright and clear. He's wearing a hooded jean jacket over his school uniform, and he pats down the pocket until he removes a pack of cigarettes. He rolls one between his fingers, side eying Seto, who knows his role in this conversation is finished. He stays anyway.

"What happened?" Taylor asks, his tone pointed.

"It's not my fault," Wheeler whines. "Some guy was messing with Yugi the other day, and I dealt with it, but it turns out he's friends with Hirutani."

Taylor's lips are a line. "You're an idiot."

Wheeler grins and lifts the cigarette to his lips, but his friend snatches it away. He looks like he's been hit a little too hard, and his smile shines on Seto next.

"You don't have to look so huffy," he says. "You stuck up for Yugi too."

"I didn't do anything," Seto says. "And I'm not the one hiding from teachers behind the utility shed."

"Um, yeah you are." He nods to the briefcase in his hand. "You always sneak out of class."

Taylor gives Seto a sidelong look as if to say _look at what I'm dealing with_ before he gives his friend a shove. "You should go back to class."

"Where do you think I was going?" he says. "How come I'm the one in trouble right now when two kids jumped me?"

"Go to class," he repeats and grabs him by the back of his head.

"If you're going to be convincingly innocent," Seto says, "you may not want to bleed so much from the face."

Wheeler's gaze drops to him as he wipes away the blood with his arm. "What do you care, Kaiba?"

"I don't," he says, and it's true. But he's spent more than a little time cleaning up rough handling by a bunch of bullies.

He rolls his eyes. "You can't play nice for two minutes, can you?"

"I don't see the benefit," Seto says.

"Come on." Taylor drags his friend forward and gives Seto a look. "You should get to class too."

Seto ignores the suggestion. He has work to do and an adopted father to please. His curiosity does get the better of him as he re-examines the conversation in his head, but he doesn't have time to waste on Wheeler and his little fights.

\---

It's after lunch. Seto's thoughts are full with the conversation he and Gozaburo had the night before, though conversation is always a strong word when it comes to the elder Kaiba. He's learned to listen, and let his adoptive father go on about enemies and sycophants and the value of what people stand to lose. Gozaburo is leaving in a few days, and he expects Seto to have everything handled. In a vague sense, he knows he means KaibaCorp, but Gozaburo always leaves things unsaid.

He's so caught up in his thoughts that he doesn't notice the familiar figure straddling the fence that surrounds the school until he's right on him. Wheeler swings his leg over and pauses when he sees Seto.

"You're not gonna rat me out," he says.

Seto stares at him. "I haven't yet."

"Fair enough." He teeters for a second to jump down, and Seto decides to satisfy his curiosity.

"Where are you going?" he asks.

"Everyone's studying for exams," Wheeler says. "Except I don't have anything to study because I left my backpack at work and it also has my smokes in it and I can't sit in a room that quiet so I'm gonna go for a walk. You know. Out."

Seto is still staring at him and he doesn't know why. The cut on his lip is faded to a pink, and his jacket hugs over his school uniform. His eyes are tired in a way Seto understands. He wonders if he just isn't used to looking up at Wheeler, or maybe Wheeler's only looked at him with anger until the last few days. He's watching Seto too, considering him, for the first time Seto walked into the classroom and Wheeler called him a rich bastard under his breath.

"Hey," he says, like he's going to regret it. "You wanna come with?"

Seto almost scoffs and says no. He almost laughs right in his face. A week ago he would've pushed Wheeler off the top of the fence. A week ago Wheeler wouldn't have offered. He wonders when their equilibrium was so offset.

He's taken too long to respond, and Wheeler lets out a huff and rolls his eyes. He drops off the fence. As he hears the soft thud of his feet hitting the grass, Seto feels a door closing. He curls his fingers in the chain link as Wheeler gives him one last look over his shoulder. It's a dare written across his face. He sticks out his tongue.

Seto hoists himself over and lands neatly at Wheeler's side. He grins at him and, without a word, pulls him by the arm as they hurry away from school.

They end up outside a corner store with Wheeler stuffing a handful of crumpled bills into his hand, and Seto realizes the true reason he's been invited along on Wheeler's day out.

"It's a green box," Wheeler explains. "Please? I'm dying here."

"I'm not that much older than you," Seto says. "I can't buy cigarettes anymore than you can."

"Yeah, but you look..." His hands wave as he tries to come up with a kind phrase and fails. "They'll card me, but they won't you. Just do it, Kaiba."

"I'm wearing a school uniform."

Wheeler lets out a long groan and starts stripping off his jacket, gesturing for Seto to do the same. He doesn't want to, but after a little bit of wheedling he removes his school coat and lets Wheeler wrap his hoodie over his shoulders. They're both long limbed and tall, and it's surprisingly comfortable as he slides his arms into it. The sleeves don't make it all the way down to his wrist. Seto tugs on them as Wheeler gives him a once over. He reaches up, dragging his hands through Seto's hair so suddenly that he shoves him off.

"What was that for?" Seto snarls.

"You look like your mom cuts your hair," he says. It's not venomous, just factual.

"Don't do that again," he mutters and brushes out what he can with his fingers.

"Now," Wheeler says, satisfied, "go."

Seto sighs and pushes open the door to the corner store. He's still wearing the school slacks, but he supposes he passes much more for a supposed twenty year old. The jacket stinks of Wheeler's brand, which he sees on the shelf immediately. The clerk gives him an odd look but he doesn't say anything as he passes over the money. He returns, and the pair walk down the street before he hands the carton to him. Wheeler's eyes are bright as he holds it up to the sky before pulling out a stick and lighting it up.

"So," Wheeler says, voice muffled by the cigarette between his lips, "what's the benefit of this?"

Seto looks at him. "What?"

"I asked if you could play nice, and you said there was no benefit." He puffs out smoke, away from him at least. "But here you are. Playing nice."

Seto doesn't say anything. He hates Wheeler in a different way than he hates most people. He doesn't know how to phrase his disdain, and more importantly how little of it he feels right now. Maybe it's the brief reprieve Wheeler offers from his own jumbled thoughts. How the acrid scent of his cigarette smoke cuts through his focus, or how he can't look at Wheeler's boy band pretty face without remark, or how his loud and accented speech is so different from the tepid politeness he receives from everyone else.

But he can't say any of that, and Wheeler stops waiting for a response.

"We could go to the arcade," he babbles on. "Or the comic shop. What do you like, Kaiba? Art museums and libraries, I bet."

A smile crosses Seto's face. "The arcade."

Wheeler lets out a lungful of smoke with a laugh. "Okay."

The arcade is mostly empty in the middle of the day, but it is a prime spot for teenagers who thought to duck out a few hours early. Seto's bills can't be easily broken, but Wheeler's got tokens galore, and he drags Seto to a fighting game. Seto is beaten soundly, but after a few more rounds, his reflexes come back to him. He likes games like Galaga and Space Invaders, which require quick timing and awareness of your enemies, but Wheeler masters every fighting game and tries his luck at a few of the more random ones. It's astounding how many times he wins. He's the first person Seto has ever seen successfully pull something out of a claw machine. He holds up a plush orange dragon to Seto's face in triumph.

"Aw, that's cute, Wheeler," a voice says as two older kids approach them. They wear the black of Rintama High School. The one with spiked hair leers at them. "Get something for your boyfriend?"

Wheeler whirls around. His smile isn't gone, but it's stretched, showing more teeth. "Hey, Goro, Daiji. Don't you have some middle schoolers to shake down for their lunch money?"

Daiji is the shorter one, a cap pulled over his bleached hair. "You messed with our boys."

"I didn't do nothing," Wheeler says. "They jumped me."

"Hirutani doesn't like you leaving," Goro says.

"He can come tell me himself."

"He won't have to."

It's all the warning he gives before he grabs Wheeler by the collar and drags him forward. Wheeler follows the momentum through with a headbutt that makes a sound so sick Seto thinks one of them will drop straight to the floor, but Goro doesn't hold back as he punches Wheeler in the stomach. Daiji is hopping back and forth and decides to take a wild swing at Seto, who sees it coming so clearly all he has to do is step out of the way. The shorter hooligan's knuckles crack against the glass of the claw machine. He lets out an ugly howl and Seto grabs him by the face, shoving him aside.

The fight between Goro and Wheeler is messier than that. Wheeler doesn't know how to block, is what Seto quickly surmises, but he does know how to stay on his feet and he's not afraid to throw his whole body into a swing. Goro connects with his face and Wheeler heaves against him. He collapses against an arcade cabinet. The fight is already drawing the attention of everyone, including the security guard, and Wheeler's still laughing when Seto grabs him and drags him through the darkened arcade. He doubts the front door onto a busy street is the best exit so he cuts further in. Games scream around them, lights flash across their faces, and behind them the shouts and arguments are fading away. Seto doesn't know if those two idiots are following them, but he finds the staff entrance and shoves it open. It leads to an empty back room and a back door that leads to an alley between the businesses.

Seto starts to breathe as soon as they're outside and stops again when he looks at Wheeler. His hair is matted against his forehead and his whole face is bleeding so much that his teeth are red when he grins at Seto. He has that look again, like he's seeing stars. Seto grabs him by the face. He wants him to calm down, to shout at him to keep his head, but there's so much blood. His big brown eyes are looking up at him.

And then, to the surprise everyone involved, Wheeler kisses him.

It's messy, and it tastes like sweat and smoke and blood. Wheeler pushes him so Seto's back is against the wall, and his fingers twist the fabric of his shirt, and Seto, who's never been kissed and never been kissed like this, can only hold on. He doesn't know what to do with Wheeler against him, and their teeth hit, and they're hands are wrestling with the fabric of their clothes, but neither is the first to let go until Wheeler breathes out a coughing snort that pours more blood out of his nostrils. He reels back, leaving Seto's hands behind, and he looks dizzy. Seto feels dizzy. Wheeler has gone from the person he hates most to first kiss.

"Holy shit, Kaiba." Wheeler looks like he's waking up from a dream.

Seto's whole mouth tastes like blood, and there's blood on the jacket, and he realizes he's still wearing Wheeler's jacket and it stinks of that cheap smoke, and he squeezes his eyes shut because he can't be Seto, scared sixteen year old boy who just kissed his first boy. He needs to be Kaiba.

"Shit," Wheeler is still saying. "Shit."

"Stop," Seto says, and he's sliding off the jacket.

"But--" Wheeler says, stopping when Seto pulls the hood over his head.

"Come on." He takes him by the wrist and pulls him down the alley. Wheeler looks like a child being pulled by an insistent parent, but it's fine. There are some things Seto knows how to fix.

\---

Seto purchases a first aid kit at the drugstore and finds Wheeler in the family bathroom, where he locks the door. Wheeler's washing his face in the sink, and the blood isn't pouring anymore. It's running yellow in the sink.

"How do you not have a scratch on you?" Wheeler asks as he looks up.

"I know how to dodge," Seto says simply. "Turn around."

Wheeler turns off the water and sits up on the sink so Seto can look at him properly. He takes Wheeler's hands in his, and he lets out a hiss when his thumb touches the dark bruising. There's a mark on his face as well, and Seto removes a frozen burrito from the bag with a completely straight face, holding it to Wheeler's face and forcing him to hold it there.

"None of the ice packs were frozen," Seto complains.

Wheeler laughs and there are still red stains on his teeth, but he's not missing any of them. "You're wild, Kaiba. I didn't take you for a badass."

Seto feels the corner of his mouth pull up in a smile, and he continues to dig in case Wheeler notices. "You have a hard head."

"Goro doesn't go down easily," Wheeler says, and his eyes focus on his hands. A sheepish look overcomes him. "I'm sorry about... all of that. Those idiots always show up at the worst time."

Seto searches for some antiseptic and the cotton balls. He can feel Wheeler's gaze on him. When Seto looks up, his eyes flicker away.

"Where'd you learn all this?" he asks.

He presses the cotton ball to the gash on his nose, and Wheeler's fingers curl, but that's it. "I got in fights every week as a kid. If the social workers found out, there goes your chance at adoption. I couldn't do that to Mokuba."

He drops it casually, because he knows everyone knows he's not the real son of Gozaburo Kaiba. Gozaburo knows it most of all, needling it into him, letting him know with one false move, Seto and his brother would be back out on the street. This probably counts as a false move. This probably counts as ten.

"Oh," is all Wheeler says. So maybe not everyone knows.

The bleeding has stopped. Wheeler's eyes are on him, and Seto holds in a breath because he knows what's next. He's waiting for that look of pity and the questions about his parents and the accident and what it was like and how did you survive, but Wheeler, as he's done many times today, surprises him.

"Who's Mokuba?" he asks.

That's easy. Seto could talk about Mokuba for hours. He's his little brother, the only constant in his life, who's a little bit of a brat but loves his big brother more than anything, and he finally gets to go to a real school and not the broken down courses they taught at the orphanage and not Gozaburo's horrendous lessons, and he seems to be excelling, which is great, and he's even made friends, which is better, and Seto can't help but feel like he's a bad influence on his brother somehow, like all the ugliness he puts on bleeds down into him, and he deals with their adopted dad's teachings and cruelties because at the end of the day Mokuba has a room to himself and all the toys he could ask for and anything else Seto can provide.

He doesn't say all that, obviously, but Wheeler gets the picture. He's got that look on again, like there's a whole galaxy behind Seto's head. His grip has laxed on the burrito, and he pushes it into his face.

"My turn," Seto says. "Who's Hirutani?"

"Well," Wheeler says.

Which is how Seto learns the sad tale of Joseph Wheeler. His parents didn't die, they just split, which is why he hasn't seen his sister in seven years, and at the start of Wheeler's middle school years his dad suddenly moves back to Japan, which is great because he's spent his first eight years in Brooklyn and he doesn't know anybody and struggles with the language and is mixed which opens a whole other can of worms he's not going into right now thank you. And in middle school was Hirutani and his gang, who didn't take crap from anyone and made Wheeler feel welcome. His dad struggled--and he chokes on his words here--and Wheeler spent less time in his house and more time doing petty crime and minor acts of vandalism and the occasional bare knuckle brawl. But he met Tristan Taylor, who also ran with a rough crowd but he was looking to clean up and the pair of them left, made easier when they attended Domino instead of Rintama, and when they met Yugi and Tea.

He doesn't say much more than that, but Seto gets the picture.

"I'm sorry you got caught up in it," Wheeler says. "And, um, about after."

His face is red, not from the damage he took. He's still got his hood pulled over his head, his blond hair sticking around his face beneath it. Seto is aware of the heat from his face and how close they are. It's an open door between them. Neither steps through first.

"We should go back," he murmurs after a long silence, and Wheeler nods his head.

\---

Wheeler doesn't go back to school, but he walks with Seto most of the way, possibly out of fear that more Hirutani's ghouls will pop out of nowhere. They don't say anything. Seto finds his driver and goes to pick up Mokuba. His brother comments on how quiet he's being, and he tells him he's working on a problem from Gozaburo. It doesn't satisfy his brother, but it's a reasonable excuse.

The next day at school Wheeler arrives with his face a painter's palette of colors. His friends immediately rush to his side to ask what happened. If anyone notices that his absence yesterday coincided with Seto's, they don't say, and he doesn't hear what story Wheeler tells. He does notice he managed to hold onto the little orange dragon, which is now clipped into his belt loop. He makes a joke about it to Yugi, who laughs. Seto watches him most of the day, and not once does Wheeler look at him.

It makes it worse when, for the next three days, Wheeler is completely absent. His friends sit in a ring around his desk, and they all pass nervous glances to it. On the third day, Taylor is also gone. Seto doesn't know what to do with this information.

He's too distracted by it to work on the project Gozaburo gave him, which is maybe the most dangerous thing about this whole ordeal. But he sits up at night, leaning on the desk where his laptop sits, and he starts hunting. It's not hard, with the little bit of information Wheeler gave him, to figure out the neighborhood where he lives, or track down the very American name Wheeler. Having this in front of him makes it harder to not do anything with it.

It's when Wheeler doesn't show up to school the next day that Seto convinces himself to do it. He makes sure Mokuba is home safe and makes an excuse about needing to go to the office. He has his driver drop him off a few blocks from where he wants to be. He's dressed down, but he still hikes up his coat collar around his neck. No one gives him a second glance as he follows the street signs to the apartment block Wheeler supposedly occupies. He finds what he hopes is the right one, sucks in a breath, and knocks on the door.

There's several sounds inside. The TV is broadcasting the nightly news, whose muffled voices discuss latest trends this holiday season, and over that a gruff voice shouts something in English, which is followed by a reply, also in English, by a voice Seto's more familiar with. Something is knocked over, and then several somethings, and finally the door opens. Wheeler's still looking over his shoulder, bathed in the blue light of the television in an otherwise darkened apartment, and when he turns, he stops.

He doesn't look good. In fact, he looks significantly worse. New bruises line his jaw and the sleeve of his jacket is torn. His knuckles are cracked, and he's wrapped them poorly. He looks as tired as Seto's ever felt.

Seto doesn't have a second part to this plan, he realizes too late. It's really so unlike him.

"What the hell?" Wheeler says in a low voice and then winces, drawing the door closed behind him as he steps out onto the walk. "What the hell?"

Seto, who is usually full of snappy retorts and one liners, finds himself without explanation. He goes for the truth.

"I was worried about you," he says.

Wheeler stares at him like he's uttered the worst insult. "Did you ask Tristan where I live? No, no way he'd give that to you. Yugi and Tea don't know either."

"Wheeler," he says, grasping onto something he can be indignant about, "I have access to everything KaibaCorp has to offer. You think I can't find an address?"

"So you _found me_?" Wheeler grips his hair. "I always thought you'd snap one day. I just thought you'd kill me, not go full stalker."

There's movement inside, and more things fall over. Wheeler glances at the door before grabbing Seto's arm and dragging him down to the street. His face is nervous, and he's looking everywhere. The street is dark with an empty lot across the street, and a small shops in a row further away, mostly shuttered and closed for the night. The streetlights struggle to stay lit in the evening darkness.

"Look," Wheeler says, holding Seto at arm's length. "I appreciate it, I do. We had a fun time, maybe things got out of hand. But I'm dealing with some stuff right now and I've already got Tristan helping me out and don't turn around okay."

The subject change is so abrupt that Seto almost does exactly that but manages to stop himself. Wheeler is still holding onto him as he starts to walk so Seto is forced to follow. Their footsteps pad a quick rhythm as they travel, and Seto becomes aware of more behind him.

"We're just gonna walk to the corner store," Wheeler is saying like this is a normal every day conversation. "There's people there and you can call a car or whatever."

"What's going on?" Seto asks.

"It's nothing. You beat up a couple of punks and suddenly their boss gets mad."

Hirutani, of course. He risks a a glance behind him and Wheeler immediately jerks him forward so they're standing side by side. He's walking fast, his hand still gripped on Seto's arm. They cross the street but the store fronts and apartments are quiet and empty. A dark shape leans out of a short alley. Wheeler tenses up.

"Really?" he mutters.

A hand grasps Seto and pulls him back. Wheeler spins, grabbing the collar of the delinquent who laid a hand on him, and he shoves him against the wall. Seto puts a hand on his shoulder, because now they're surrounded. Ten, maybe twelve in all, dressed in dark clothing, none of them wielding weapons Seto can't see, though more than one has a hand tucked in a pocket. They part, and a boy steps through. He's stockier than the pair, his hair slicked back and tied. Piercings stud his ears.

"Hirutani!" Wheeler shouts in a greeting. A big grin plasters his face. "How's it going, man?"

"Wheeler," he says, tone flat. He looks up at Seto. "Who's your fancy friend?"

"Don't worry about it." He steps forward, arms outstretched. "What can I do for ya?"

Hirutani considers them both. "He was with you the other day, huh. You punched up some of my boys, Wheeler. Both of you."

"To be fair," he says, "they came for me."

"Here's the thing, Wheeler." His tone is congenial, his smile filled with teeth. "I can't stop my boys from acting out. They never really got over you leaving us."

"Sure," Wheeler says. "You can't stand the thought of someone sneaking out from under your thumb."

"We had a lot of trust in you, and you broke it." Hirutani sighs, the way a plumber does seeing a clogged pipe. He cracks his knuckles. "Now we're going to break you."

Wheeler moves first, so fast even Seto's surprised by it. He lets out a war cry as he swings straight for Hirutani, and he's rebuffed by two of the delinquents. He's knocked to the ground with a swift kick, and when Seto moves to help him, more hands pull on his coat. He twists, and his fist lands in the mouth of the kid grabbing him. Seto hasn't actually hit someone since his orphanage days, and the sting of it bites back more than he imagined. Wheeler is on his feet again, and they are back to back as Hirutani's gang rains down on them. Seto keeps his arms up to block, but they rush him, taking every inch of space to jab and attack. Wheeler takes hit after hit, but he's wild with his blows. He knocks two to the ground. Seto, with his masterful ability to avoid, manages to knock one into the other, and then he strikes one hard enough to send him to the ground. Wheeler surges forward again to strike at Hirutani, who laughs and lands an easy punch to his stomach and then a kick to the knees so Wheeler is on the ground.

More hands grab Seto, and three delinquents manage to pin him to the wall. Hirutani reaches out and takes Wheeler by the throat. He squeezes, and Wheeler's hands latch onto his arm, but he can't move him. Seto feels like he's the one being chokes. His breath leaves him. Every nerve end in his body is on fire. All he can see are Hirutani's hands and Wheeler's lips part as he gasps for air. That wild instinct screams and scrapes inside him.

"Here's the thing," Hirutani says, casually, and his grip tightens. Wheeler makes a noise that turns Kaiba cold. "Breaking you means we have to rough up your big friend. You know how it is. But I always liked you, Wheeler. And I bet paying your dad's debts would be a hell of a lot easier with us."

Seto lurches forward and is slammed back. One of the delinquents removes a switchblade. Wheeler's eyes flicker to him.

"I want you to think real careful," Hirutani is still saying.

Wheeler sucks in a breath and lets out a strangled, "Go to hell."

He shakes his head and nods to the kid with the knife. Seto's rage has broiled up so hot that he's trembling, and he feels that anger clawing away. It makes him want to scream and kick and tear these fools apart limb by limb. But that never helped him or his brother, and it won't help Wheeler right now. He takes that anger and lets it cool.

"You're a fool," Kaiba says, and his voice is ice cold enough to make them all freeze.

"He talks." Hirutani releases Wheeler a fraction of an inch. "What's the big guy got to say?"

"You are a high school delinquent masquerading as a Yakuza lord," Kaiba snaps. "You are street dogs, and these are scraps."

He bristles, and his grip relaxes. "What the hell do you know about us?"

"I know you're expending a massive amount of energy and manpower on getting Wheeler of all people back in your gang. That tells me everything. You're desperate for people to follow you around and play little games like this. Do you think this is power?"

"I got everything I want," Hirutani growls. "Who the hell are you?"

He starts laughing. He can't help it. "You've got a pack of dogs and all the clout of a recess bully, and you ask who I am? I've been grabbing for power since I was twelve years old. I convinced the most powerful man in Japan to let me into his home. I bet on men's lives every single day. I'm Seto fucking Kaiba, and if you think you can leave one mark on me, then you better be damn good at hiding. KaibaCorp will root you out of whatever hole you burrow into and destroy you. I will end you, and your families, and you will be buried so deep even the worms will forget your names."

The silence that follows rocks the whole gang. Wheeler, low on oxygen and looking like shit, lets out a laugh.

"Kaiba?" Hirutani repeats, and realization is dawning over him like the morning sun.

"You're so screwed," Wheeler says.

Hirutani looks at the kid with the knife, and Kaiba hopes this isn't the moment where they call his bluff. But he releases Wheeler, who staggers away from him. Kaiba shoves off the ones holding him down and places a hand on Wheeler's shoulder, gaze steeled at Hirutani.

"And if you touch him again," he growls, "it'll be me you have to deal with."

The gang takes a step back. Wheeler looks up at Kaiba, eyes full of stars, a grin pulling at his lips. He straightens up and grabs Hirutani by the collar. His fist knocks him flat on the ground. Without another word, he walks away. Kaiba follows after.

They make it half a block before they're running. No one's following them, but Wheeler bounds forward. Seto's out of breath his heart is hammering and he hurts, but when Wheeler turns to him, it feels worth it. They're at the corner store now, but they stop short of the rectangle of light its glass windows leave against the dark ground. Wheeler's still smiling and leans against the wall of the store and pulls out a cigarette. Seto doesn't even mind the smell anymore.

"That was brutal," Wheeler says as he lets out a breath of smoke. "I've never seen them scared like that before."

"Do you think they'll still come after you?" Seto asks.

He shrugs. "I think it'll be a while before he needs to flex at me again. Is that stuff true, what you said?"

"They are a pack of angry dogs and it's any wonder you ran around with them," Seto says.

Wheeler gives a little snort. Any other day, and that comment would've driven him into a rage. Seto worries he's losing his touch.

"No," Wheeler says, "about the power and burying people?"

Seto smirks and moves closer to him. He's breathing the same smoke as Wheeler exhales it. "You think I can't?"

Wheeler's head is tilted back, and a shag of blond hair falls over his face. His lip is bleeding again and it paints the end of his cigarette red. His voice is still hoarse. He stinks of sweat and cigarette smoke. Heat radiates off him like a furnace. He's looking at Seto, his eyes wide.

"What about me?" he asks.

"What about you?"

They're barely apart at all. The door is open again. Wheeler opens his mouth to say something, and Seto kisses him. There's no surprise this time, and Wheeler leans into it, dragging his arms around Seto's shoulders to hold him there. The end of his cigarette burns close to Seto's skin. He feels feverish and frantic, his hands reaching inside Wheeler's jacket to find the ancient cotton t-shirt worn down soft, his lips parting to let Wheeler's tongue slide in, his body trembling to press closer and hold tighter and stay here right here his heart beating a drum in his chest his body on fire and seeing stars behind his eyelids.

Wheeler's cigarette burns out by the time they part, and he doesn't reach for a new one. Seto steadies himself. He's not thinking about how much trouble he's going to be in, or what his brother will say about the bruises certainly forming on his face, or the piles of work he abandoned for this exact moment. All his head is full of is what's right in front of him.

"Come on," Seto says, and this time he takes his hand. It's almost too intimate, but Wheeler doesn't pull away. "We should clean you up."

"You gonna be my nurse everytime someone knocks me down?" Wheeler asks. "'Cause you got a lot of work ahead of you."

"You could learn to dodge," he says.

Wheeler laughs when he says, "Go to hell."

And again, Seto doesn't have a second part of this plan. Wheeler has the amazing ability to sweep aside any common sense he tries to employ. That's part of the thrill, he thinks. That and the way Wheeler is looking at him right now. Punchdrunk and happy. He wants to kiss him again, but Wheeler pulls him along, and Seto follows after.


End file.
